Helping Parents Connect to Their Children

Every semester bilingual Program Officer Corrin Chambers from the Reading Connections comes to the Family Literacy classroom to teach parents how to read with their children. Every time she covers a different aspect of reading and shows the parents how to do it. The first session in October she talked about bilingual books and during the second session she talked about wordless books where parent and child can make up their own stories.

The parents love coming to these classes because they not only learn new reading techniques but receive free books for their children as well. This way they can immediately apply what they have learned in class.

I follow up on these classes by talking about what was taught and by having the parents read the books out loud in class. I make sure that everything is understood and that the parents are reading the books using the new techniques at home.

by Eugenie Ballering, M.Ed.
Family Literacy Instructor

Thanks for a Thankless Task

Every year we send out a holiday card to all of our supporters wishing them a joyous season from our staff and board members and the families who have benefited from their generosity throughout the year. Sending out over 2,000 hand addressed holiday cards is no small task. This year we were fortunate to have employees from Reed Technology, students from the Art Institute, and one member of Westminster Presbyterian Church volunteer their time to help us hand address, stamp and stuff the holiday cards. For anyone who ever participated in a large mailing, this kind of work has its own way of leaving you feeling a little drained at the end of the day. It is often a thankless act of generosity that goes unnoticed - but not this year. We are so thankful for the hours each of these groups gave to help us send out our holiday cards. Their hard work enabled program staff members to focus more of their time where it is needed most: at work with the 150+ children and families benefiting from our services.

Media Coverage in India

This past week we were contacted by Aunshuman Apte from Voice of America who, after reading the article in the Washington Post, wanted to do a story on the impact of current financial crisis on our programs. After inteviewing our senior managers, they spent time in each classroom. They asked almost every child (because the children loved to be on camera) what they wanted to be when they grow up. They got, as you can imagine, some priceless answers. My personal favorites were: "a butterfly" and "a princess who is stuck in a castle." One the mind boggling aspects of this whole story is the number of people who will view it. The news story will be broadcast in India, and the television station has a viewship of 25 million!

Reason for Thanksgiving

Recent media coverage in the Washington Post and USA Today have highlighted that this has been a particularly difficult year for CFNC. Despite the hardships that we, like many other non-profits, are facing this year, it is good to pause and recognize the numerous reasons we have for thanksgiving. I would like to share with you three recent acts of good will and generosity for which we at CFNC give thanks this holiday season.

A Call From New York

On the same day the first article highlighting the impact of the economic crisis on our organization appeared in the USA Today, Barbara received a phone call from a man in New York City. He had read the article in the USA Today and wanted to help us continue our programs that benefit young children living in poverty. He told Barbara, after what felt like a very long game of phone tag, that he would like to donate $20,000 to our programs to help out in this difficult time! Many things are remarkable about this gift, and the one that strikes me most is the distance between where this man was calling from, and where the children lived who he was reaching out to help.

Coming to the Rescue...with Turkeys

Each year, CFNC receives turkey dinners from McLean Bible Church and Westminster Presbyterian to distribute to our families the weekend before Thanksgiving. However, this year, due to the difficult economic times, there were not enough turkeys for all of the families we serve. John Herrity at Alexandria Chevrolet found out about this need and brought it to the attention of the owner Steve Niswander. They decided to buy the 60 turkeys we needed to make sure every family this Thanksgiving received one! When asked why they decided to buy the turkeys, Mr. Herrity replied, "We are very big on supporting children in this city, and we have been for the last 3 years, aggressively. Things are tight for everybody but when it comes to something like this, it is hard to say no."

Every Little Bit Helps

This last story is a reminder that the size of the gift is not what matters most--it is the spirit in which it is given. Following our most recent media coverage in The Washington Post, we received a letter in the mail from a woman who read the story, and was moved out of compassion for the children we serve to give what she could. In the letter she wrote, "I hope the enclosed small amount can be used toward your shortfall. I have a daughter who teaches 2nd grade in a Title 1 school in North Carolina and through her, know the importance of a good start for at-risk children. I hope other read the article and make a donation--every little bit helps!"

And every bit--every donation, every in-kind donatin, every hour a person volunteers--every act of love and generosity helps us provide high-quality, free preschool and family support services to children and their families living in poverty. So to all of you who have supported our programs this year and in years past, thank you! The children we serve depend upon your generosity, and for nearly 25 years now generous people have ensured that young, at-risk children have the support they need to succeed in school and life.

Volunteer Spotlight: Katherine Milliner

We are finding that one of the main reasons why parents stop attending our ESL program is because they find the class too challenging or not advanced enough to meet their needs. To deal address this issue we have changed the structure of our ESL program from 4 days of classes per week (with 2 beginner classes and 1 intermediate class per day) to 3 days of classes and 2 days of small group tutoring per week. This allows us not only to offer 5 full days of literacy programming as opposed to 4, but also to meet our parents where they are at in terms of their literacy level. We are hopeful that these changes will help us increase our retention rate with parents by up to 50% so that more parents improve their literacy levels by year’s end than anticipated. We currently have 105 parents participating in our classes!

This change in the structure of our ESL/Family Literacy program depends upon talented volunteers to lead our small group tutoring sessions on Tuesday and Thursday. One woman who has been giving her time and talents each week to help us better serve our families literacy needs is Katherine Milliner (pictured above).

What brought you to volunteer at CFNC?

Katherine: I came here from Idaho. My husband is working with the President's Malaria Initiative for a couple of years. So here I was with time on my hands and looking for something useful to do. I went on the Internet, found your organization, and you welcomed me with open arms. I called and was invited to come in.

Education is my background, so this was a good fit for me. It was an amazing thing because I was able to step right in. In terms of you being open to receiving me into the fold and letting me help in a way that I could was lovely.

Tell me about your experience so far volunteering with our ESL program.

Katherine: It has been delightful...I was also taking Spanish classes, which was a really humbling experience, and that was one of the reasons I felt I need to do something to help those on the other side of this because I know how much I am struggling. I have support, and I have books, and I have everything at my disposal...I have also lived over seas so I know what it is like not to be able to communicate.

My experience has been I come here for an hour and a half on Thursdays to a room full of eager, enthusiastic, happy women, whose needs are met. They have deposited their children with you, and they are anxious to learn. Their camaraderie is great. Their reception of me has been phenomenal...We just have a good time.

Has there been any one moment so far that stands out in your mind?

Katherine: I think for me the most touching thing is if I am asking a woman to speak who doesn't even have a strong voice for herself in her native language, and she is brave enough to try and say the words in a foreign language. If we can create an atmosphere where she is willing to try it, it is a beautiful moment. And there are lots of those little beautiful moments.